


What Happened?

by Bill_Mcfricken_Cipher



Category: Portal (Video Game), The Stanley Parable
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 12:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1744796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bill_Mcfricken_Cipher/pseuds/Bill_Mcfricken_Cipher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chell found herself somewhere she did not know, with a voice narrating to her what to do. Completely pissed off, she does everything /the exact opposite/ what the Narrator says. And finds herself... in quite a hassle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Happened?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Protagonist](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/53699) by IndigoCode. 
  * Inspired by [Protagonist](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/53699) by IndigoCode. 



Chell pressed the button again and again just for the sake of keeping the cardboard cutout of a baby from "crawling" to the fire. The cries of the baby coming out of the speakers reverberated through the whole room.  
  
 _This is really annoying already,_ Chell thought. _I'm at this for a hundred times now. I'm stopping!_  
  
The baby proceeded to the fire and burned immediately, the cries fading as the baby "died".  
  
 _ **You heartless bastard  
  
** Same to you, piss off.  
  
_The Narrator let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
 _ **Did you do this because you hate babies or just to spite me?  
**_  
 _What do you think?  
_ **  
 _Because if it’s the latter, well, I don’t know what to do. I’m completely out of ideas. I can’t think of a single thing that might improve the experience for you._**  
  
 _That's good to hear._ Chell scoffed.  
  
 ** _I… I’m not even going to try._**  
  
 _Please don't. You really have wasted my time too much. I would rather be spending my time baking a cake.  
_ ** _  
I'm out. I’m out. I’m_  done.  
  
** The lights dimmed before it closed.  
 **  
 _It’s over._  
  
** _Finally!  
  
_ _ ** _Thank you for playing. Your input was extremely valuable.  
  
_** _Like hell.  
  
__ Chell let out a resigned sigh and sat on the floor of the imperceptible chamber. It's finally over. She'll wake up this horrible, horrible dream like nothing happened... And everything will be al--  
  
  
 ** _Oh, hey, since my game is so_ awful** _ **, why don’t we try someone else’s game, just to ease the pain?  
**  
WHAT?! _ Chell was outraged!  
  
 ** _Let’s see… what do we have here?_  
  
** _Don't tell me. Please. No more games.  
  
 **Yes, this seems like it’ll work. Let’s give it a shot**. _  
  
Chell felt her feet leave the ground as an invisible force pulled her upward. She expected to hit the ceiling but she did not.  
  
...  
  
Chell awoke in a field. The blue sky with only very little clouds. The flowers littered on the grass... wait...  
  
 _That's odd... everything... looks... cube-y  
  
_  
 _ ** _Well, Michelle, is this any better?_**  
  
I don't know. Everything looks... OH MY GOD! MY BODY LOOKS LIKE A PILE OF BOXES. WHAT HAPPENED--?!  
  
_ **  
** _ **At last, the one thing you’ve always desired: a game I had absolutely nothing to do with. But is it enough?**  
  
_ Chell was too busy looking at her hands... cube hands in disbelief.  
  
 ** _  
Tell me that, Michelle. Will it_ ever _be enough?  
  
Well, I’ll say this, I’m done making things for_ you _. From now on, I will only create to fulfill a greater artistic purpose.  
  
Watch this, Michelle,_ I’m _going to build a house!_**  
  
 _A house?  
  
_ She looked up and saw dirt - cube dirt - being piled onto one anothe-- _what?  
  
Are those two blocks of dirt hovering from the ground with no support at all?!  
  
_  
 ** _Yes! It’s complete!  
  
_** Chell tried her best to hide her snickering.  
  
 **I _made this, Michelle._  
**  
 _You call that a house?!  
 **  
**_ **  
 _Look at it. Gaze upon my work of art and feel ashamed of your own inadequacy.  
  
_** _Oh please...  
_ ** _  
Ah, but you’ve only seen it from the outside. You’ve only gotten half of the experience. Please, step inside, and make yourself comfortable.  
  
_** Chell saw the door open on its own. She smirked. She wanted to mock the narrator by getting inside and showing how uncomfortable she would be. She got in.  
  
 _God it_ is _uncomfortable in here.  
  
_ Chell started squirming in it.  
 **  
 _Isn’t it grand? Isn’t it perfect? It could only be better if–  
  
_** _You made it spacious?  
_ ** _  
Wait, that’s it! We must rebuild it out of diamond! Diamond everything!_**  
  
 _Diamonds... hmm... are you serious?  
  
_ Chell squeezed herself out of the dirt house.  
  
 ** _Yes, yes, yes–come along, Michelle, we have to go mining!_**  
  
Chell walked to the "dirt cube boarder" opposite the house and prepared to jump...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
 _What? I CAN'T JUMP?!  
  
_ The Narrator seems aware of the problem of not being able to jump and he gladly dug the boarder away.  
  
Chell walked to the underground cave. It reminded her somehow of _**that place.**_ It was dark and mysterious. Probably inside that cave is a lot of insane things. She slowly descended the cave, going deeper and darker in every step.  
  
 ** _Oh, my. It looks like it’s going to get a bit dark. Have you brought a light?_**  
  
 _What do you think?  
_  
  
 ** _Oh, no, no, no, no, no. This is far more open-ended than I had in mind. I’m looking for something more narrow and linear, something that makes you feel utterly_  irrelevant.  
  
 _This won’t do at all. One out of five… even the diamonds couldn’t save this one.  
  
Let me check what else we have here… _  
**  
Chell sat down on the cube whateveritis she's standing on. She couldn't see it so she has no clue at all on what it is.  
 **  
 _I have a pretty good feeling this’ll do the trick.  
  
_** _Oh No.... I don't like this... I have a bad feeling about this...  
  
_ ** _I’m sure you’ll love this, Michelle._**  
  
 _Really... really..._ really _bad feeling.  
  
_ Once again, Chell was lifted from the ground by the invisible force.  
  
.......................................  
  
  
 _Argh my head hurts.  
  
_ Chell awoke to a lively song coming from the radio. It was familiar. Too familiar. She heard it before. She heard it before. She remembers the song.  
  
 _No... This is just a joke, right?  
  
_ The all-too-familiar song was Her song. She sang it to Chell right after She was shut down. She sang it to her. She was _Still Alive.  
  
_ With no other choice, Chell opened her eyes to the bright light from the ceiling of her glass room. She looked for a sign of the presence of Her or The Narrator.  
  
Nothing...  
  
She got up from her stasis pod and stared at the toilet beside her. Then she glanced at the radio on top of the white table and the clipboard with the basic warnings of testing elements on it.  
  
Chell was scared out of her wits when The Narrator suddenly let out a loud mischievous laugh.  
  
 ** _YES! I don’t even know what this game is, but I_ LOVE _it!_**  
  
 _What the hell?! You little son of a bi--  
_ **  
 _You trapped in a glass box with no way out, listening to me talk–oh, it’s inspired! I couldn’t have done it any better myself.  
  
What is this game even supposed to be? I can’t figure it out! Do you any ide--  
  
_** Chell made a bad hand gesture towards The Narrator with both of her hands. Chell glared at the camera on the wall directed to The Narrator, hate and anger boiling inside her.  
  
 _I just escaped from this hell and you...  
  
_ She took the radio.  
  
 _brought...  
  
_ She got ready to swing it at the camera, barely remembering the glass panel separating the camera and Chell.  
  
 _me...  
  
_ She was going to throw it.  
  
"BACK!!!!" **** _ **  
  
**_She threw it and shattered the glass panel. She jumped away out of shock. Not because she was shocked that glass panel shattered but because she lost self-control. She _spoke._ She literally _spoke._ She spoke and broke her resolve never to speak, especially in the presence of someone she deems threatening (and annoying).  
 _  
_ ** _Could it be...  
  
You came from here?  
  
_** _Oh give the boy a prize. You randomly put me into this world without giving a damn about where_ I _came from.  
  
_ Chell sat back down on the bed with her head on her hands.  
  
 _ **So you did come from here. Why did you leave? Look at the fashionable room you are in. This place is good.**_ Perfect _ **, even.  
  
**_ Chell let out a bitter chuckle.  
  
 _If only you knew...  
  
 **Am I wrong? Here, let's proceed to this next room.  
  
**_ Eager to prove The Narrator wrong, Chell leaped from the bed and went to the first test she has ever solved.  
  
 _ **See. Look at the button artistically placed on one side. And the Cube dispenser on the other.  
  
** Like hell, wait 'til we get through the easy tests of the testing track.  
  
 **Come on. Solve it.  
  
**_ Chell obliged and placed the cube on the button.  
  
 _ **That's it! Now into the elevat--- no wait! Where?! Argh! Be right back Michelle. I'll get the elevator.  
  
**_ Chell saw the elevator left without her, and so did The Narrator. Chell waited for The Narrator to come back and sat on the cube which is atop the button.  
  
 **Well, I'm back.  
  
** Chell fell down the cube at the sudden entry of Her voice.  
  
 **I didn't see the deer toda-- What did you just do to your relaxation vault?  
  
** Chell whistled to herself. _Nope nothing happened.  
  
_ **And where did the elevator go?  
  
** She paused.  
  
 **What were you doing while I was out?**  
  
Chell was about to shrugged when the elevator came back down.  
  
 _ **Michelle, here's the elevator. Now let's-  
  
**_ **Wait who're you?  
  
** _Oh god no. They met...  
  
 **I might be asking you the same question.**_

 

 **Who the hell is this lunatic?** Chell felt GLaDOS' accusing gaze fall upon her. She shrugged.  
  
 _Don't ask me. If don't know who this guy is!  
  
_ **If this is another one of your little jokes then I recommend you to stop this immediately.  
  
** Chell raised both her hands in the hopes of getting GLaDOS to believe her that she has no control over The Narrator. _Don't look at me. If I knew how to make this guy disappear, I would've done that in the beginning.  
  
 **Is this the reason why you left? Is it because of this rude, judgmental Narrator of yours?  
  
**_ **I am not rude, nor am I a "Narrator". Although,** yes **I am a** bit **judgmental --**  
  
 _A BIT?!  
  
_ **\-- But I only state facts. And that is a fact... idiot.  
  
 _Then let me tell you a "fact" miss know-it-all. You are annoying, arrogant and downright rude. I understand now why Michelle had left you in the mud.  
  
_ My test subject has never left. She was always here.  
  
**Silence.  
  
 **Were you?  
  
** Another moment of silence.  
 **  
 _She wasn't here while you were gone... Well...The responsibility of her disappearance...It would be my fault.  
  
_ How did you...? What did you do to **my **test subject? Explain yourself human!  
  
** _Your test subject? Excuse me, You just freed me! How dare you--_  
  
The Narrator let out a disgusted cackle  
  
 _ **I am not human, you narcissistic AI.  
  
** How did he know GLaDOS was an AI?  
  
_ **Then I demand to know what the hell you are.  
  
 _I am a Narrator. I Narrate in_** _my_ ** _world.  
  
_** Your **world? This is** my **world. Why are you in** My **world? Why are you in** My **facility?**  
  
The Narrator didn't reply.  
  
GLaDOS clearly didn't like this guy. Actually, it looks like She despises Him. If The Narrator has the power to pull Chell from her world and put her back, then He really shouldn't be messed with. And GLaDOS knew that. But GLaDOS, dignified even when there's no hope, spoke up.  
  
 **You have** no **right to touch anything** I **own. This is...  
  
** "Hey! Psst! Over here!" Another Brit whispered from behind... _Oh no...  
  
_ Chell turned to see the blue-eyed personality sphere that she will never forget. Wheatley, the Intelligence Dampening Sphere, was her guide through the deadly facility. He was her side kick. They were about to escape. But what did He do? He betrayed her. So she sent Him to space.  
  
But, based on what Chell's guts are telling her, that hadn't happened yet. And if it were to happen, she knows what to do to prevent it from happening. In fact, she _did_ break her resolve of not speaking.  
  
"Look, we're going to get out of here. C'mon. While they're not yet looking!" Wheatley opened a few panels while the Her camera was not focused on them.  
  
Chell, still reluctant to trust him, went in the room. The panels closed, leaving Chell standing in the dark.  
  
"Here, let me just turn my flashlight on."  
  
There was a click but there was no yelp, unlike the first time he actually did that in her memory. Maybe he had learned that he won't die when he turn the flash light on already. Chell didn't know. As far as she know, everything in Aperture isn't the way it was when she was here.  
 _ **  
**_Wheatley led the way to whatever hideout he knows. Or at least a place as good as a hide out for an uncertain amount of time. They went through the catwalks in between the test chambers. Gladly, GLaDOS was too busy dealing with The Narrator to even care about Chell's escape.  
  
Wheatley babbled continuously about this guy whom he found shivering in an unsupervised test chamber. He really didn't know what to do with the ol' fellow.  
  
"Funny thing is that he talks as much as you do." He let out a chuckle, "get it? 'Cause he really doesn't talk. Yeah. So he talks as much as you do."  
  
They gradually came to a stop in front of the locked door.  
  
"Hello? Are you still in there?" Wheatley asked, "Hello? Are you going to open the door, anytime no--"  
  
The door opened to reveal a man with curly black hair. He was a few inches taller than Chell and he had cute freckles on his face. He had timid brown eyes. He smiled a small smile at Chell before returning to a seat at the far corner of the room.  
  
 _Wait, freckles. Freckles. This guy must be Stanley!_ ** ****** _ ** _  
_**_

  
  
So everything seemed too confusing right now. Everything was beyond Chell's comprehension. She had escaped Aperture, was brought into a realm unknown to her, pissed the Narrator, got dragged to the place where she became a stack of boxes and was returned to the place that had tried to kill her repeatedly, but the facility doesn't remember the things she remembered.  
  
  
What _is_ going on here?  
  
  
She kept on pondering about this in the room while Wheatley talked nonstop on what just happened recently. Chell blocked him out. She needed to know what is happening and _how_ it's happening.  
  
  
She paced around the room in circles.  
  
  
"Uhm, any problem luv?"  
  
  
Chell jumped in return.  
  
  
"Oh, okaay." Wheatley said awkwardly, and whispered to himself, "Poor brain-damaged bloke. I hope she gets better soon. Couldn't help but think what'll happen if an alternate her took her place and spoke. Might be a bit helpful, really..."  
  
  
She snapped her fingers. She got it!  
  
  
 _Alternate Universe.  
  
  
_ Chell remembered it! She remembered what the former CEO of Aperture Science said.  
  
  
  
  
 **"I introduce, _the Multiverse._ An infinite number of** **Apertures in an infinite number of Earths!"  
  
  
  
  
** Chell paced around a bit more quickly, the gears in her brain working.  
  
  
 _So if this is an alternate universe, it means that... that it'll end differently... With The Narrator and Stanley in here, everything will be a lot harder. We have to escape. Fast.  
  
  
_ Chell really don't know how she can break her habit of not speaking, but miraculously, she did.  
  
  
"Hey." she said.  
  
  
"Yeah, hey." Wheatley replied to her absentmindedly. He was examining a vent at the wall. Turning his flashlight on and off and on and off, expecting the vent would change if he did so.  
  
  
"Wheatley."  
  
  
"Yeah? Wha- uh What?!" Wheatley quickly directed his optic at Chell, his chassis following. "You talked?" He said in disbelief.  
  
  
"Yes. I did, can I sa--"  
  
  
"You bloody talked!" He was bouncing now, "You are not brain damaged after all! Ha ha! I knew you weren't! And you called me by my name!"  
  
  
"Yes, I talked," Chell said urgently, "I called yo--"  
  
  
"My bloody name... How did you know my bloody name?" he asked her suspiciously,  narrowing his optic and backing away.  
  
  
"Uh..." So she wasn't supposed to know his name... yet... Excuse. Excuse. Come on! Think!  
  
  
"I-I read it a while back." she said in a hurry. Chell mentally facepalmed herself. _Great excuse Chell, very good._ "But that's not the point! Wheatley, we need to escape! Immediately!"  


 _ **Oh, but why, Michelle? Why leave now?**_ The Narrator said nonchalantly _**Your friend and I had just gotten to know one another.  
  
**_

 _Shit._ Chell thought, _We're dead. We're totally dead._ She grabbed Stanley's hand and ran out of the room. Stanley obliged and kept up with her

 

 **Hmm. It seems that the mute lunatic doesn't want to negotiate.** GLaDOS mused, chuckling.

 

 _ **This is terribly embarrassing.**_ The Narrator replied, letting out an audible sigh, _**Of all the times Stanley would listen it would be now. And of all of the people he's going to listen to, it's Michelle.**_

 

 **Stop calling my test subject like that.** GLaDOS told him in a commanding tone.

 

**_Why? It_ is _her name._**

 

**Her name is Chell.**

 

The two voices started arguing as Chell wheeled around a corner and stopped and turned to Wheatley, panting.

 

"Turret Production Line... Lead... Way." She huffed, her voice hoarse. Wheatley cocked his chassis to the side, but seemed to get the point for he turned and exclaimed "Follow me!"

 

 

 

"Follow me!" Wheatley announces as he moves forward his rail. But he abruptly withdraws himself when a some orchestral boom from the speakers, voices chanting in union in the background.

Stanley and Chell cover their ears in surprise.

**_"Now this makes things more interesting, hm?"_** The Narrator speaks. His voice acts as a signal to the group for they immediately ran.

**_"Oh come on,"_** The Narrator purrs, **_"I'm not going to kill you. I just want to continue the story, do you understand?_**

**_"Look, Michelle, here's the deal, I'm taking Stanley back with me and I'll leave you, happy, with GLaDOS."_ **

_Like hell,_ Chell thinks to herself. _Like hell am I going to stay here and be killed by a homicidal AI. It's kill or be killed here._

**_"No?"_** He says aloud. ** _"Fine, let it be that way Michelle."_** An audible sound of a chair moving in the background and some whisperings are emitted from the speakers. Chell knows that's not good. Not in one slightest bit...

"We're almost there!" Whealey announces to both of them. A mechanical door is a few feet away from them . Just a couple of more steps. Six steps. Five, Fou--

The ground just instantly gives way, leaving Chell and Stanley falling into the bottomless pit.  
  
  


_**This is a story of two people named Stanley and Michelle.** _

Chell's head jerked upward as she awoke. She looked around her wildly. She was back in the offices. She was back... with Stanley. In the maze of offices.  
  
 _ **Both of them worked in a very large office building.  
  
**_ Chell jumped out of her seat when she heard a knocking on the door, cutting through The Narrator's monologue. The knock was quite... uncertain. Like someone was being asked to knock at the door against his will.  
  
 _ **Michelle, who had just awaken, opened the door to see who was knocking.  
  
**_ Chell did not move. She knew better than to trust The Narrator now. There was another knock. She's not opening the door.  
  
The Narrator seemed to notice her decision and let out an audible sigh. _**If you're really not willing to listen to me, then go ahead.**_  
  
She continued to stand her ground.  
  
 **Okay, let's try it my way.** She heard GLaDOS' voice in the background. She heard Her clear Her throat. **Since the crazy mute lunatic was the first one to wake up, she opened the door since it was quite impolite to leave the person outside.  
  
** Chell cannot respond to this. She can't move from her spot. GLaDOS was _working_ with the Narrator. Why? She gaped at the camera at the corner. She couldn't believe that GLaDOS was helping The Narrator... That She's actually _agreed_ to be accomplices with him.  
  
GLaDOS made an electric sound of impatience. A panel pushed Chell roughly forward. **Open. The. Door.  
  
** Chell fumbled for the door knob and twisted it open.  
  
"Argh!"  
  
She was greeted with a very bright blue light. She shielded her eyes and stumbled backward, landing on Stanley. He yelped and fell off his chair. Wheatley stared, confused, at the two who, in the moment of confusion, had entangled themselves. Chell and Stanley looked at one another before looking away and started undoing the tangled mess of limbs.  
  
They heard a growl from The Narrator. _ **Right. Back to the story. Since both of you have thrown the story far off track, and we can't at all trust The Line** **™, The Intelligence Dampening Sphere will guide us through the entire journey.  
  
**_ "What?!"  
  
Chell and Wheatley asked in union.  
  
 **You heard him.** GLaDOS chuckled, **Follow the Moron.** _ **  
**_

 

  


 

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> And there we end the story in complete and utter confusion! I don't want to expand this so you can make up your own ending to this story. If you like, you can tell me how you think this would end. I know how it would end. It would end being a more complicated story. And I really need to finish a lot of my work now. I promised myself that I'd finish a fic this summer... but... well... all plans don't go the way you expect it to happen...
> 
>  
> 
> As for the freckles thing, The Narrator's voice actor said that Stanley had freckles.
> 
>  
> 
> This was basically a spin off of IndigoCode's "Protagonist" found in DeviantArt.


End file.
